Stovetop fires are a well-known residential and commercial hazard. An unattended stovetop fire, for example a grease fire, can lead to structural damage or injury. Even if a stovetop fire is attended, an automatic extinguishing method may be more effective and expedient compared to manual means. Conventional fire extinguishers can provide efficient and automatic stovetop fire suppression and include, for example, the automatic stovetop fire extinguisher taught by Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,075. In addition, a conventional stovetop fire suppressor, such as a STOVETOP FIRESTOP® fire suppressor (WilliamsRDM, Inc., Fort Worth, Tex, USA) may also provide a one shot high decibel activation alarm. FIG. 1A shows a conventional stovetop fire suppressor with a one shot high decibel signal upon activation.
Conventional fire suppressors which are particularly well suited to a stovetop environment include a container of an extinguishing agent and are mounted to a vent hood above the stovetop. An example of such an extinguisher is shown in FIG. 1A. Turning to FIG. 1A, a cross sectional view along the center axis of a closed container automatic stovetop fire suppressor is shown. Through the bottom wall or lid 20 of the container 40 extends a fuse 10. A fire on the stovetop ignites the fuse 10, which in turn triggers an initiator 30. An initiator housing 34 is affixed to the bottom lid 20. The fuse 10 extends into the initiator housing 34, wherein an explosive charge is housed, charge not shown. The initiator 30 opens the bottom 20 of the container 40, thereby allowing the disbursement of the extinguishing agent 49 onto the fire and the stovetop. The container is secured via a magnet 50 to a hood over the stove. Turning to FIG. 1B, Referring to FIG. 1B, the bottom lid 20 has grooves or scored lines 41A-46A selectively formed on the outside thereof to facilitate breaking or rupturing of the bottom end into separate tear-open segments 41-46 without fragmentation to form openings 41B-46B, openings not shown, only in the bottom wall, lid 20, when the free ends of the segments are forced outward to allow the fire extinguishing powder 49, shown in FIG. 1A, to fall or pass outward from the container onto the fire. The fuse 10, shown for example in FIG. 1A, is lit by a stovetop fire which burns into the initiator 30 and ignites a charge. When this occurs, the force of the explosion ruptures the scored or weakened lines and forces the tear open segments 41-46 outward to form the openings 41B-46B and further, a high decibel blast is generated signaling fire suppressor deployment. The fire extinguishing powder then falls out of container 40, shown in FIG. 1A, for example, to extinguish any fire below which may be in a frying pan, for example. While this charge based high decibel blast can be detected for further remedial measures, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 8,622,147 to Williams, it is not created in compression spring opened fire suppressors, shown for example in FIGS. 2A-2B.
A spring loaded fire suppressor can be readily mounted over a stovetop and upon detection of flames, the extinguisher releases a fire suppressant. While release of fire suppressant may extinguish a current fire, a smoke alarm, as a consequence, may not be triggered to alert occupants of the present deployment of fire suppressant and any potential for subsequent additional fires. To avoid an unwarranted smoke alarm trigger, the conventional smoke alarm in a typical residence is not placed near the cooking area. This typical proximity may decrease the likelihood of the smoke detector triggering upon activation of a distant automatic stovetop fire extinguisher.
A number of conventional automatic stovetop fire extinguishers, which mount above the stovetop surface, are available. These include: U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,677 to Stager using pressurized liquid; U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,461 to Stager using a pendulum device; U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,278 to Mikulec using fluid under pressure; U.S. Pat. No. 7,472,758 to Stevens and Weintraub using a fuse activated initiator; U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,075 to Williams using a self-contained device with fire suppressing powder-like agent; U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,181 to Searcy using pyrotechnic fuse; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,636 to North using fluid under pressure. While different fire suppression devices can be deployed to release flame suppressing matter, attendance to the stovetop is not automated or guaranteed. Perhaps one resident has fallen asleep and a second has entered the area unawares. A smoke alarm may not be timely triggered, or triggered at all, in view of the released fire suppressing matter. It would be desirable to quench a stovetop flame and automatically transmit an ongoing audible alarm until a user tends to the stovetop.
It would be desirable to provide an automatic fire extinguisher and fire alarm system which suppressed any present flames while alerting building occupants of the hazardous situation. Depending on the applicable fire code, the building environment, and building residents themselves, a fire system may be required to have both extinguishment and alert functions. As, an example, it may desirable or required by fire codes to alert the neighboring apartments or dorm rooms of a fire hazard condition in an adjacent dwelling. For a multitude of situations, it would be desirable to provide an efficient, economical, easy to use and automatic stovetop fire suppresser and fire alert system.